This application is based on Japanese Patent Applications No. 10-105071 filed on Apr. 15, 1998 and No. 10-190675 filed on Jul. 6, 1998, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display, its manufacture, and apparatus used for the manufacture. More particularly, the invention relates to a display, its manufacture, and apparatus used for the manufacture, all suitable for broadening an area of a display screen.
b) Description of the Related Art
Color thin film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal displays of 10 to 11 inches have been mainly used heretofore for portable personal computers. Now, liquid crystal displays of 12 to 13 inches are being adopted to satisfy user""s needs for broadening a display screen area and high resolution. To increase the overall size of a personal computer with a broadened display screen area is contradictory with such user""s requirements. In order to suppress the overall size of a portable personal computer from becoming bulky, it is necessary to make compact a frame structure of the computer.
However, according to the evaluation of the present inventors, it has been found that the image quality displayed on a peripheral area of the display screen is lowered if the frame structure is made compact.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a display and its manufacture method capable of suppressing the image quality displayed on a peripheral area of the display screen from being lowered even if the frame structure is made compact.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus suitable for the manufacture of such a display.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing an image display device, comprising the steps of: preparing an image display panel having in an in-plane thereof an image display area for displaying an image and a framing area surrounding the image display area; and supplying light shielding ink from an ink supply source to at least a partial surface area of the framing area of the image display panel, the light shielding ink being coated on the partial surface area without making the ink supply source come in contact with the image display panel.
Since the ink supply source does not contact the image display panel, it is possible to prevent generation of dust. The coated light shielding ink intercepts leak light from an area near the side edges of the image display panel and the image quality to be lowered by leak light can be prevented.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink coating apparatus comprising: a holding stage for holding a substrate; an ink head for jetting out fine ink droplets; and a guide mechanism for translating the ink head along a first direction parallel to a surface of the substrate, while the ink head is faced against the substrate held by the holding stage.
Without making the ink head come in contact with the substrate, fine ink droplets can be jetted out.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink coating method comprising the steps of: preparing an object whose surface is coated with ink, the object having a step in an area where the ink is coated; covering a surface of the object with a mask member, the surface being a peripheral area of the area where the ink is coated; and flying fine droplets of the ink while a flying direction is controlled and supplying the fine droplets to the surface of the object in the area where the ink is coated.
As fine droplets of ink collide with a step, it may be broken and scattered. However, since the nearby area of the area where the ink is coated is covered with the mask member, the broken and scattered ink can be prevented from attaching to areas other than the area where the ink is to be coated.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image display device comprising: an image display panel having in an in-plane thereof an image display area for displaying an image and a framing area surrounding the image display area, the image display panel including a first substrate and a second substrate disposed in parallel and spaced by a certain distance, and as viewed along a direction normal to a surface of the substrate, a side edge of the first substrate being flush with a side edge of the second substrate, and another side edge of the first substrate being inside of another side edge of the second substrate; and a light shielding film formed on side edge surfaces of the first and second substrates of the image display panel, the side edge surfaces being located at the flush side edges of the first and second substrates.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image display device comprising: an image display panel having in an in-plane thereof an image display area for displaying an image and a framing area surrounding the image display area, the image display panel including a first substrate and a second substrate disposed in parallel and spaced by a certain distance, at least a partial area of the side edge surfaces of the image display panel having matt finished surfaces.
Since the side edge surface is formed with the light shielding film or a matt finished surface, stray light in a space on the bottom side of the image display panel can be prevented from transmitting through the side edge surfaces and leaking to the front side of the image display panel.